Tuesday, September 09, 2014

It's settled-- Connected Courses it is!

photo credit
Decisions, decisions
They seem more difficult to make as the years roll by

The waning gardens call to me-- greatly in need of tender care
As does the new AI Studio -- so full of possibility
And the ramp up to Connected Courses has truly captured my attention

Which direction? or can it be, should it be directions?

Yearning
for the opportunity to be in the open air and digging and cutting back and thinking already about next spring--

for digging deeper into appreciative inquiry with AI practitioners from across the globe--

for learning as compelling as I experienced in CCK08  and sensing the enormous potential  in #ccourses 

I'm not in higher ed although I do design and facilitate professional learning for educators; with other commitments I'm afraid I won't be able to be as active a learner as I would like--

Excuses. Really.

Especially when I read  Why Would I Take a Higher-Ed Connected Course? from a middle school teacher

And even more with Mia Zamora's  Connected Courses: Towards a guilt-free learning zone…. 
I for one want everyone to know that their own learning pathway (whatever that may turn out to be) is perfect.  Such is the particular affordance of truly open learning.  In my experience, magical things happen when we let ourselves unlearn the criterion of institutionalized conventions.  So let’s drop the guilt instinct, and just learn by self-design (interest-driven lurking is the foundation!). What “open” really means is that YOU are the true center of the learning.
What a wonderful invitation!

and Alan Levine's  thoughtful comment to that post:
Everyone is on a spectrum of participation they chose, change- its constantly evolving. There are many avenues of participation that do not require being loud and visible online.
photo credit
Those pushed me to the edge yet should I hang back?

What's surprising to me is I feel just like I did prior to CCK08 -- it must be like the anticipation of the first day of school for those many 35 years-- so full of possibilities and yet underneath the surface serious tensions -- oh the uncertainty. Can I? Should I? Do I?

Silly.

Decision-- direction--
I’m jumping in again, almost jumping--sensing some pretty special opportunities and possibilities (there's that word again) for extending learning and deepening understanding-- disregarding the nagging “what have I got myself into this time”.

It’s just time to let the learning begin!!

5 comments:

Howard Rheingold said...

Welcome aboard, Lani! I love your use of quotes, musings, and images.

Joe Murphy said...

What a terrific introduction! So much to consider. Your thought about not being able to be as active a learner as you'd like resonated with me. How often do we turn down opportunities to have a little experience, because we fear that we might fail to have a big one? Yet even a little learning is learning, even a little connection is a real connection.

Kim Jaxon said...

Your blog makes me even more excited! Thank you for such an inviting blog! And welcome!

Lani Ritter Hall said...

Howard and Kim,
Thank you so much for taking time to comment. Your connecting is pretty special to me--

Lani Ritter Hall said...

Joe,
You said:
"even a little learning is learning, even a little connection is a real connection" -- absolutely.